This invention comprises a device for loading bulk carriers as well as a method of loading ships using the device of this invention.
The ship loading operation is an operation of extreme importance for the transport of various materials, in situ bulk materials. Bulk material can vary in various types of material such as ore, fertilizers and food, thus being a very common operation in many types of industry.
The loading of VLOCs is carried out by means of equipment known as a ship loader, which basically consists of a movable base, a boom, and a cargo discharge nozzle.
The mobile base consists of a structure associated with rails arranged on the dock, allowing the equipment to travel under these rails by means of a travel system. In addition, the movable base also allows a rotational movement of its boom by means of a rotation system. There are also ship loaders with fixed base, realizing the movement only of the boom, that is, not traveling in rails.
The boom consists of a structure fixed to the movable base, thus allowing the ship loader to reach the ship to be loaded. It has a conveyor belt inside, allowing to transport bulk material from the moving base to the cargo discharge nozzle.
The cargo discharge nozzle consists of a tubular structure where the material is discharged from the conveyor belt and directed to the storage holds of the ships being loaded.
Ships to be loaded, in this case, cargo ships for bulk material, have a storage hold where cargo is stored during transportation. These storage holds must necessarily be closed to prevent bad weather from contaminating the material inside. If there is contact of the material with water, which occurs mainly in the case of food grains and fertilizers, the material will be damaged.
There are several types and models of covers for storage holds of VLOCs, the most common of which are rolling and folded type. In the rolling type, the covers are pushed and traveled to perform the opening of the storage hold, while in the folded type the covers are folded to form a concertina and, thus, open the storage hold.
Thus, in the prior art, in order to carry out the loading of the VLOC, it is necessary to open those covers to allow the access of the ship loader nozzle to the interior of the storage hold, leaving the material already in storage inside the storage basement and which is being loaded damagingly exposed to local weather.
When there is a forecast of rainfall or effectively rainy weather and therefore high winds, ship loading must be interrupted due to the exposure necessarily caused by the opening of the storage hold covers, obviously not being able to load the material to the ship with the covers closed.
Therefore, a device enabling VLOCs to be loaded by ship loaders even in rainy weather and high winds is of utmost importance and interest.
In the prior art, there are some patent documents which disclose equipment and devices to assist in loading ships even in rainy weathers.
Document EP0002377A1 discloses a device for loading VLOCs, reducing the emission of dust and allowing the loading to be carried out even in the rain. Such a device consists of a transfer pipeline provided with a waterproofing cover, and this pipeline is arranged to pass through a protection of the cargo hold in order to prevent rain from entering and the emission of dust.
The device of document EP0002377A1 comprises a folding cover, a transfer pipeline, a ring, and a protection. The protection consists of flexible protection or any other type of protection configured to prevent water or contaminants from entering the cargo hold of the ship.
The transfer pipeline passes through such protection so that the material to be loaded into the ship passes through it and is dumped into the cargo hold. Such a transfer pipeline is composed of a folding cover configured to guarantee the protection of the pipeline from possible contamination by rainwater and allow a small movement of the pipeline without damaging it.
The aforementioned folding cover has a ring at its end, which is used to associate the protection to the pipeline cover. In this way, the ring, together with the cover and the protection, prevents the water from entering the pipeline or the cargo hold of the ship.
However, the device of document EP0002377A1 requires a protective cover to be attached to the opening of the storage hold, requiring a long operating time and a high cost of making such a cover due to the size of the hold opening, which is approximately 400 m2.
In addition, in rainy weather and high winds, it is extremely difficult to install this protective cover, requiring other equipment to carry out the positioning and placing workers at risk to carry out their fixation.
Another document of the prior art is WO2014167417A2, which discloses a device for performing the loading of VLOCs in rainy weathers. Such device consists of a cargo hold cover formed by movable panels, one of said panels being provided with a hole for insertion of a pipeline for discharging/loading of material.
The device of WO2014167417A2 comprises a plurality of panels, a central panel, an opening, and wheels. The panels are overlapped so that they can move between them, thus forming the cargo hold cover of the ship. Such panels are associated by flanges at their ends, which guarantee the cover seal, preventing the entry of water or impurities.
The central panel is different from the other panels, as it contains a passing opening arranged in its structure. Such opening is configured to allow a bulk material feed pipeline to be introduced therein, and to discharge material into the cargo hold of the ship, thereby performing its loading.
The bulk material pipeline is provided with a cover, which prevents water from entering the opening of the panel while loading of material. The wheels are arranged in the end panels, allowing the entire cover to be moved easily.
However, document WO2014167417A2 also requires a structure to be installed in the storage hold of the ship to prevent contamination of the material therein or being loaded, thereby causing a large time to carry out the installation of such a structure.
In addition, the installation of this structure occurs with extreme difficulty in rainy weather with strong winds, necessitating other equipment items to perform both the positioning and the installation of this structure in the storage hold of the ship.
Nevertheless, the devices proposed by prior art patent documents, in the event of collapse of their structures, cause damage to the cargo due to contamination with the water disposed in the ruptured structure and the physical contamination of the cargo with the shrapnel of the structure. Another disadvantage of prior art documents is that with none of them it is possible to realize their use irrespective of the type of opening of the cover of the cargo hold, either rolling or folding, each structure being specific for each type of opening of the cover of the hold.
Therefore, there is no device in the prior art for loading VLOCs in rainy weather with compact structure and low manufacturing cost.
Additionally, there is no device in the prior art for loading VLOCs in rainy weather that does not require a robust structure to be attached to protect the material inside the storage hold of ships.